This invention relates generally to a steering wheel for use on a boat and, more particularly, to a steel fabricated steering wheel having a plurality of compound indentations formed in the underside thereof for use as finger grips in operating the steering wheel.
Steering wheels are used in many applications, including automobiles and other vehicles, and boats and the like, to facilitate human control over the machine being operated. Most such steering wheels are manufactured with ridges and grooves on the underside of the steering wheel to conform the steering wheel to gripping by the human hand. Such steering wheels are typically molded from materials, such as plastic, with the finger grip indentations formed in the finished product. Fabricating a steering wheel out of tubular steel stock with similar finger grip indentations formed therein has not heretofore been known in the art. The fabrication of such a steering wheel places substantial stress on the tubular stock member and can easily cause the tubular stock to collapse.
Similar problems were encountered in the manufacture of hand railings from tubular steel stock and were addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,267, granted to Gervase A. Schmitt, et al, on Mar. 2, 1993. This prior art method and apparatus discloses the manufacture of hand railings set forth in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,267 for use in a variety of different applications, none of which included the formation of a boat steering wheel bearing finger-sized indentations in the underside thereof for engagement with human fingers. This disclosure, however, does not teach one of ordinary skill in the art to manufacture a steering wheel from steel tubing stock, which would be particularly desirable for use on boats. Because of the exposure to a relatively harsh environment, including salt spray, and exposure to the sun, a material of choice for the manufacture of such steering wheels is stainless steel.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a steering wheel and a method of manufacture of the steering wheel in order to improve the durability and operation of a boat by replacing existing standard steering wheel devices.
It is an object of this invention to provide a formed stainless steel steering wheel that can be used on boats operated on salt water.
It is another object of this invention to provide a process of forming a stainless steel steering wheel.
It is a feature of this invention that a stainless steel steering wheel is fabricated with finger grip indentations on the bottom side thereof.
It is an advantage of this invention that an aesthetically pleasing stainless steel steering wheel can be installed on boats used in salt water operation without sacrificing the availability of finger grip indentations.
It is another advantage of this invention that the oval, tear drop shape of the cross-section of the rim of the stainless steel steering wheel facilitates a comfortable grasping of the steering wheel.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the process for manufacturing the stainless steel steering wheel forms the finger grip indentations without crushing the cross-section of the rim.
It is another feature of this invention that the manufacturing process involves the use of multiple forming punches simultaneously forming finger grip indentations at each indexed strike of the punches into the blank from which the rim is formed.
It is still another feature of this invention that the multiple forming punches are equidistantly spaced around the circumference of the circular tool at spacings at least the spacings of two finger grip indentations so that a limited amount of force is exerted on the blank at any die strike to prevent the cross-section of the blank from collapsing.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing a stainless steel steering wheel having finger grip indentations on one side thereof involving the steps of:
a. placing a circular blank having an oval-shaped cross-section defining an elongated axis into a tool having a circular die;
b. striking the blank simultaneously with multiple forming punches spaced equidistantly along the circumference of said circular die, each said forming punch being formed with a compound curved shape to form an indentation axially into one side of said blank;
c. then, indexing the blank circumferentially relative to said forming punches to position said blank for a subsequent formation of a new indentation into said blank; and
d. repeating said striking and indexing steps until said one side is formed with a desired number of indentations having a defined spacing in a predetermined pattern, placing a circular blank having an oval-shaped cross-section defining an elongated axis into a circular tool.
It is yet another object of this invention that the formation of the blank from which the circular rim into which the finger grip indentations are formed involves the steps of:
a. inserting a round stock of linear stainless steel tubing, having a pair of distal ends, into a first tool to convert the tubing into a generally circular shape having an oval-shaped cross-section defining an elongated axis, the two distal ends being located adjacent one another; and
b. welding the two distal ends together to form the circular blank.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a stainless steel steering wheel having finger grip indentations which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use and a process for making such a steering wheel.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a formed stainless steel steering wheel formed by a process that includes starting with a linear stock of round tubing which is then formed into a generally circular shape with an oval-shaped cross-section. The two ends of the curved tubing are then welded together to form a circular blank. The blank is then placed into a circular die having forming punches associated therewith to strike the blank to form finger grip indentations therein. The circular die is then rotationally indexed so that the forming punches can form subsequent finger grip indentations around the circumference of the blank adjacent to the previously formed indentations in a predetermined pattern until the steering wheel rim is completed. By utilizing multiple, preferably three, forming punches equidistantly spaced along the circumference of the circular die, the finger grip indentations can be formed without crushing the blank. A preselected number of radially extending spokes are then welded between the formed rim and a central hub to complete the formation of the stainless steel steering wheel having a particular use on boats operated on salt water.